Nrusinghanath Temple, is a

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to Hindu deities, deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to who ...

Western Odisha Western Odisha is the western part of the state of Odisha in India, extending from the Kalahandi district in the south to the Sundargarh district in the north. History Historically it has been included within the larger region of Greater Kal ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, situated at the foothills of

Gandhamardhan hills Gandhamardan Hills or Gandhamardan Parbat () is a hill located in between Balangir and Bargarh district of Odisha, India. This hill is well known for medicinal plants. There is a Bauxite reserve which is planned for exploration by the state gov ...

near Paikmal,

Bargarh Bargarh is one of the major towns of Western Odisha and a municipality in Bargarh district in the state of Odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District and an important town of Odisha because it is known as the ...

. The King of

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, Baijal Singh Dev laid the foundation of this historic temple in early 15th century CE. It is only 45 feet in height, divided into two parts: the first being the seat of the Lord Nrusinghnath, the second allotted to Jagamohan (antechamber having 3 gates and each supported by 4 pillars.

History

Around six hundred years ago, a woman Jamuna Kandhuni as referred in the book "Nrusingha Charitra" in

Odia language Odia (;"Odia"
''Lexico''. , ISO 15919, ISO: , ; formerly rendere ...

composed a Kavya that sings the glory of Marjara Keshari in regard to suppression and repression of torture and tyranny of Musika Daitya. According to the legend, when people were greatly afflicted by Musika

Daitya The daityas () are a race of asuras in Hindu mythology, descended from Kashyapa and his wife, Diti. Prominent members of this race include Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu, and Mahabali, all of whom overran the earth, and required three of Vishnu's a ...

(the incarnate Mouse Demon), Vishnu Mani in the appearance(Incarnation) of Marjara Keshari, in His Feline Form, ran to eat the demonic mouse form – Musika Daitya who never came out from the tunnel and Marjara Keshari waited from that day. The temple is reputed from that day with this mythological history. This story is symbolic of grounding the demonic evil power of tyranny and torture that never dared to come out further and Lord Nrusinghnath alias Marjara Keshari has been guarding it since then. According to

Huen Tsang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contribu ...

, the Chinese traveler, this place was a centre of

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

scriptural learning. Lord Nrushinghanath is a much-adored deity of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

and a great fair is held in his honour on the 14th day of bright fortnight in the month of

Vaisakha Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calen ...

. According to Odia and

Devnagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ancient '' Brāhmī'' script. It is one of the official scripts of India and ...

inscriptions, the temple was built by Baijal Dev in the early 15th century AD. The temple is a masterpiece of

Kalinga Architecture The Kaliṅga architectural style is a style of Hindu architecture which flourished in the ancient Kalinga previously known as Utkal and in present eastern Indian state of Odisha. The style consists of three distinct types of temples: Rekha ...

Deula Deula is an architectural element in a Hindu temple in the Kalinga architecture style of the Odishan temples in Eastern India. Sometimes the whole temple is also referred to as ''Deula''. The word "deula" in Odia language means a building structu ...

style prevalent in the

region of

Tourism

Here you can also visit Chal dhar (400 m from Temple), Bhim Dhar (425 m from Temple), Sita Kunda (500 m from Temple), Panchupandav (1.5 km from Temple), Kapil Dhar (4 km from Temple), Supta Dhar (7 km from Temple), Satyaamb (9 km from Temple), Bhim Madua (11 km from Temple), Happy Point (12 km from Temple). In recent year tourism has been developing in around

. An annual big fair held on Nrusimha-chatrurdasi day during

Vaishakha Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calend ...

shukla chaturdashi (in May) attracts thousands of pilgrims from far and near. Nrusimhanath Temple is about 35 km west of Padampur,110 km west of Baragarh and 164 km from

Sambalpur Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Samb ...

. Khariar Road Railway Station is the nearest railhead. Here also a beautiful garden created just near the temple, where Lord

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

different avatar shown and also a 28 ft

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

Statue created inside the center of Garden.

References

visit Baragarh, the Vaikuntha Dham

Nrusimhanath temple

External links

Official WebsiteOdisha GovernmentOdisha Tourism
{{Authority control Narasimha temples Hindu temples in Odisha Bargarh district

History

Tourism

See also

References

External links